Deadly Quake Strikes Nepal: 150+ Lives Lost in Remote West

• Over 150 lives lost in a powerful earthquake in remote western Nepal.
• Rescue operations underway in challenging terrains of Jajarkot and West Rukum districts.
• Tremors felt in Nepal’s capital and neighboring Indian cities.

A powerful earthquake that occurred on Friday has resulted in the tragic loss of over 150 lives in remote western Nepal.

Security forces have been mobilized to assist in the rescue operations in the challenging terrains of Jajarkot and West Rukum districts, situated 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of Kathmandu.

The earthquake’s strong tremors were felt as far as the Nepalese capital and in several cities in neighboring India, including Delhi.

According to an army spokesperson, more than 100 people have sustained injuries, and Jajarkot’s hospital is overwhelmed with the wounded.

Geethakumari Bista, a survivor, recounted her ordeal to the BBC, mentioning that rescuers managed to save her elder daughter, but sadly, her younger daughter did not survive.

“We three were in the same room on the top floor. Everything happened so suddenly. We couldn’t understand what was happening,” she recalled.

After their house collapsed, they were buried in the rubble.

“People shouted around. The armed police came and I shouted: ‘I am alive, too’… First they rescued my elder daughter by carrying her out and taking her downstairs. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save my younger one. She was 14 years old.”

In the hour following the initial earthquake, three additional tremors were experienced. Many individuals opted to spend the night outdoors due to their apprehension of further tremors and potential damage to their homes.

Local media showcased video footage revealing the crumbled facades of multi-story brick buildings. On social media, there were posts depicting people tirelessly sifting through debris in the darkness to extract survivors from the ruins of collapsed structures.

Unicef Nepal reported that they were in the process of evaluating the extent of the damage and the impact of the disaster on children and families.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, arrived in the affected region on Saturday. He had previously expressed his heartfelt condolences for the loss of lives and property caused by the earthquake on the social media platform X.

He also announced that he had instructed security agencies to promptly initiate rescue and relief efforts.

However, these search and rescue operations are facing obstacles as landslides triggered by the earthquake have obstructed roads.

“Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents,” said a police official from the region, Santosh Rokka, who spoke to Reuters immediately after the earthquake.

“We were sleeping. We felt like dying,” says Laxman Pun, an earthquake survivor. Their house have been damaged and they could survive “with much difficulty”, he told BBC Nepali. “We don’t know where we will be able to stay. We will probably need tents.”

“Our house shook back and forth like a swing. As we rushed outside, there were houses falling and dust everywhere. We couldn’t see anything and so we again moved inside. We came out after the tremors stopped,” said Siddha Bohora, a bank manager from Jajarkot.

In Athaviskot municipality, one of the regions severely impacted by the earthquake, three individuals with severe injuries were transported to hospitals in Surkhet for advanced medical care via an army helicopter.

The chief of Athaviskot municipality, Ravi KC, has issued a warning that the victims who have lost their homes will face even greater hardship due to the cold weather.

The municipality, which has a population of approximately 35,000, has seen hundreds of houses completely destroyed, as reported by KC.

Local government officials, police, and the army have been deployed to carry out rescue operations, as there are still bodies trapped in the debris to be recovered.

The earthquake was recorded at 23:47 local time (18:02 GMT) according to Nepal’s Monitoring and Research Centre.

The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake as having a magnitude of 5.6 and noted that it was a shallow earthquake, meaning it occurred closer to the Earth’s surface.

Nepal is located in a seismically active region along the Himalayas, which is prone to frequent seismic activity.

Just last month, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the western district of Bajhang, resulting in injuries.

In 2015, Nepal experienced two devastating earthquakes, resulting in the loss of 9,000 lives and injuries to 22,309 individuals.

The initial earthquake, a 7.8-magnitude event on April 25, 2015, caused the most extensive damage and casualties.

Numerous aftershocks, including a 7.3-magnitude quake in May of the same year, followed. These earthquakes led to the destruction or damage of over 800,000 houses, primarily in western and central districts, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

In addition to homes, government buildings, some road segments, and the renowned historic monuments of the Kathmandu Valley, including UNESCO World Heritage sites, were either destroyed or damaged, with numerous villages north of Kathmandu reduced to rubble.

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